Pacific Power should have to buy conduit

Thursday, December 27, 2012

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Pacific Power should have to buy conduit

Just read the letter about Pacific Power charging to remove power conduit even if it did not pay to install it or buy the conduit. This is just another example of Pacific Power taking the citizens to the cleaners and stuffing its own pockets.

I have been fighting with it for years and when we file a complaint our bill drops and gradually goes back up. I called and filed one complaint after doing improvements to our home about our bill going up by 100 percent and the Pacific Power employee’s answer was that our bill always goes up 100 percent that month.

I requested a digital meter and it declined my request, yet it says it is working for its customers. If this was true it would not be losing them to REA.

I am pretty sure there is a fee included in your Pacific Power bill for all maintenance so it has already been paid for. Even if it did take the lines over, it still did not buy them.

Try watching a meter reader read a meter with binoculars from up to 50 yards away sometimes and figure how acurate the readings are.

It is time all Pacific Power customers had a choice on who supplies them with power, and if it wants to remove your conduit, make it buy it from you.

Ken Sloan

Milton-Freewater

Get facts before forming opinions

“It’s a sign of the times ...” we often hear and say in observance of just about anything we don’t particularly agree with. The irony of course is that the criticism comes equally from opposing views on the same issue. Both young and old, conservative and liberal, religious and atheist alike claim this judgmental position as their own; neither admitting fault in their perspective; both claiming moral superiority, albeit from differing authorities.

Gun-control, national debt, fashion styles, music, language, and love — all draw ample commentary, replete with emotion and often lacking in facts.

Have you ever found yourself speaking out on a topic or issue without really knowing all of the facts? Just running on the emotional charge you’ve attached to the subject?

I know I’ve been guilty. My kids have accused me of it, and rightly so at times, when I react to a convenient and limited amount of information.

I’ve also been the target of ill-informed critics, who are quick to levy judgment without consideration of the whole.

I’ve learned to ask a lot of questions before jumping to conclusions, a discipline that has served me well in the home, the church, at work and in my civic duties. It’s not an excuse for apathy, nor a substitute for decisive leadership. It’s a sign of maturity and wisdom, attributes I try to develop in myself and to instill in my kids.

With the coming of a new year I am expecting more from myself. I should engage vigorously, but armed with sufficient information on important issues affecting my family and my community.

So the next time, I catch myself “tsk-tsk’ing” and shaking my head at the news, and uttering that familiar refrain, I’m going to ask myself: “Do I have enough information to make a fair and just decision on this topic?” And: “Is the information I have accurate?”

There are a number of important issues facing our community and nation in 2013. It’s worth taking the time to investigate.

I’m making it a goal this year to have ears to hear the whole truth, eyes to see things from an eternal perspective and a tongue to speak words that are beneficial to others.

K.C. Kuykendall

Waitsburg

State should make sure schools are safe

This letter is in response to the terrible tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.

My wife and I have been teaching safety at elementary schools for the past three years. Using a talking animated school bus, we teach the children safety rules to follow, i.e. boarding the bus; bus danger zones; behavior; crossing roads; strangers, etc.

After each class the children are given the opportunity to come up to the talking bus (Buster) and ask him a question. The questions they ask are, at times, alarming. Such as: What if the bus catches fire?

We assure the children that if they follow the safety rules and always obey the bus driver they will be safe and not to worry.

Well now they have something much worse to worry about and they will, you can be sure of that! We need to secure our schools. But how? Are we going to arm teachers and school administrators? Absolutely not!

The state of Washington needs to develop a “Secure School Program” under the jurisdiction of the state patrol. The state provides school funding; the state patrol performs a yearly safety inspection on every school bus.

The state patrol has the resources to recruit, screen and train people for this. Preference should be given to persons with prior military and law enforcement experience. The position would be part-time and would cost less than the salary of one full-time teacher.

This person would be fully trained in firearms. I say expert for a reason. If someone were to be foolish enough to show up with a firearm, knowing that a fully trained state patrolman is there to greet him — well, one round should take care of the threat. No ricochets!

This security person should be outside when the buses arrive in the morning and when they leave in the afternoon, and outside during recess, always being vigilant of his or her surroundings. He or she will be a friend to the students and they will care and appreciate that there is someone they can count on to protect them.

Children are precious gifts from God! We must do our best to protect them. Never again can we allow another tragedy to occur. Doing nothing is just not acceptable anymore.

I’ve heard that after the grieving, comes the anger. Well, I guess that’s true!

Jerry McBride

Walla Walla

Unintended consequences? Really?

I am really confused about what Tom Baker had to say when the letter ended with bringing up how wonderful Switzerland is with its gun laws. Well maybe the other social programs it has in place, funded by taxes that are quite higher than ours, are better at locating and assisting those in need of mental services, which we have slowly cut since the 1980s.

Switzerland also taxes those who go to church, and I bet most here wouldn’t like that very much? Churches here get tax breaks yet get to enjoy all the services, be it fire/emergency.

Switzerland also takes care of its retired persons better than we do, have mandatory maternity leave, unemployment and assistance to those injured and not able to work.

Of course he also had to bash Obamacare, which is not even close to socialized medicine. Heck it still lets the medical corporations rape and pillage.

Yet again, the country chosen to reference also has socialized health care and yet has very, very low unemployment rates. I wonder if there is a connection here at all?

In response to unions, maybe you would like to return to the times before we had them? I think many people are ignorant to the fact they are the reason most of us of have at least some paid holidays and don’t have to work everyday of the week for peanuts.

So I guess there is no problem with the corporations cutting back pay and benefits yet continuing to give their higher level management grossly inflated wages and bonuses?

The reason they are cutting back with the cost of health care is because they don’t want to give any of that up. Of course health care has been going up for years, not sure where you have been pre-Obamacare.

I respect viewpoints from all sides, but they really should be researched before putting them out for the public to read.

Jennifer Carter

Walla Walla

Letters welcome

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